I can tell you that I have seen people working in software for automotive companies, who earn that much for very little work that I still wonder how this is possible.
I have seen that as well. The automotive industry (in IT in the few companies I've seen) though seems to move at glacial pace, yet in the right direction. Contrasting that with experience in telecommunication providers I've worked with, where the pay was similar, most worked under a lot more stress, but effectively accomplished less as projects were much more based on the manager's career goals than company goals.
They will gladly pay :
- 10k for missed opportunities ( I've seen companies looking for devs for more than half an year )
- 10k for a recruiter
- 80k for the employee
Not to mention I've seen consulting companies "renting" good freelancers to conglomerates, for double the price of what they are paid.